Global Ocean Heat Content Anomalies: Argo Float Mapped Data

Monthly and yearly ocean heat content anomalies (OHCA) from 2004 to 2024, calculated for the top 2000 dbar of the ocean equatorward of 65 degrees latitude. The dataset is derived from Argo float observations mapped using locally stationary Gaussian processes, providing estimates for specific vertical layers and global integrals. It includes derived ocean heat uptake time series and associated uncertainty estimates.

Use Cases

• Tracking long-term ocean warming trends based on the 2004-2024 monthly and yearly anomaly time series.
• Analyzing vertical heat distribution using data mapped for specific depth layers (e.g., 0-700 dbar, 700-2000 dbar).
• Quantifying global and regional ocean heat uptake from the calculated yearly time series.
• Assessing mapping uncertainty for OHCA estimates at each time point and location.

Strengths

• Provides a 20-year time series (2004-2024) of ocean heat content, a key climate variable.
• Uses a sophisticated, data-driven mapping method (locally stationary Gaussian processes) to interpolate sparse Argo observations.
• Includes estimates of uncertainty for the mapped fields, supporting rigorous analysis.
• Offers data at multiple temporal resolutions (monthly, yearly with one or two points per year).

Limitations

• Spatial coverage is limited to regions equatorward of 65° latitude and excludes areas shallower than 300m or poorly sampled by Argo.
• Input sources show a conflict in the stated time range, with one specifying 2004-2023 and others 2004-2024.
• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided in the source descriptions.

Provenance

Source

Argo float array temperature data, processed by Donata Giglio (University of Colorado Boulder).

Collection Method

Observations from the Argo profiling float array are mapped into gridded OHCA fields using locally stationary Gaussian processes (Kuusela and Stein, 2018).

Time Range

2004 to 2024 (conflict: one source states 2004-2023).

Geography

Global ocean, equatorward of 65 degrees latitude, excluding shallow (<300m) and poorly sampled regions.